Test Your Mettle
by Tucker's Mayflower
Summary: Ten years after the initial attacks, there's still an Irken threat on Earth...but the threat isn't what anyone is expecting.


_Hello, fellow invaders! Mayflower here, storming another fandom with my cray one-shot collection. I got dared, essentially, to write this piece as part of a self-imposed writer's challenge I posted long, long ago, and only recently got around to writing it. I think it turned out pretty awesome, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Enjoy! :)_

__**Now receiving disclaimers from the Irken Armada  
**_Invader ZIM,_ both the cartoon and all related characters, locations, et cetera (c) Jhonen Vasquez_  
_

* * *

Thunder rolled through the blackened skies, cracks of lightning threatening to split the clouds and dump a torrential rain upon the unsuspecting city.

The scene was set atop the old skool building. Though she hoped in her heart that it would actually begin to rain, knowing that he couldn't stand it. She, on the other hand, loved nothing more than to be doused in a torrent of stormwater.

Indeed, there weren't many things that could get Gazlene Membrane to step outside, but the rumble of a thunderstorm was one of them. Ever since her days as a young goth girl, the rain spoke to her. Watching the sadness and frustration it brought upon the idiots that made up her city warmed her heart. Really, if you looked at it, not much changed since her and Dib's days at the rickety old skool. Her hair was still a deep shade of violet, though it hung a bit straighter now that age had killed its young curl. Her fashion failed to grow up alongside her; it was still layers of blacks and pinks, though she had more of a figure for it to cling to.

The one major change was the disappearance of her skull necklace. Stolen by aliens, or at least that's what she told Dib. She had a new necklace now, though it remained tucked under her shirt for the world to never see.

Nothing else changed. She still had the top scores in every arcade game, still went out for Bloaty's pizza on Fridays, and still decorated her room with piggies.

_Whirr-iz! Whirr-iz! Whirr-iz!_

She was also one of the Membrane kids. Meaning it was her job to deal with the alien threat on their planet.

"Didn't think you should show up. Looks like rain."

"Acidic and disgusting as it may be, I'm not about to be stopped by your filthy Earth-rain."

Looking at the cloak he hid under, that clearly wasn't the case. However, he was also brandishing four razor-sharp spider legs, so she didn't bother to argue. Instead, she asked, "So why did you call me out here?"

He didn't answer, opting to silently lower himself from his spider legs. She couldn't help but frown; silence didn't suit him. Another low roar of thunder shook the skies above as he took the few heavy steps needed to close the gap between them.

A few beats of silence. Then he struck.

Gaz barely jumped out of the way when one of the invader's spider legs lashed out, rolling over the attack and cracking the leg backwards at its lowest hinge, causing it to spark before falling limp. She smacked the second attack off with her hands, and just managed to grab at the dagger in her boot to help her fend off strike three.

With his legs disabled, the attacker withdrew them, pulling out some alien weapon that resembled a taser before rushing after his prey. Gaz dropped to the ground, sweeping his real legs out from under him and causing him to nearly tumble off of the edge.

She saved him, though, grabbing hold of his cloak and pulling him back to safety. Couldn't end it that easily, could she?

Once back on his feet, he spun around, attempting to stab her with his sparking weapon. She used the flat side of her knife as a makeshift shield, deflecting swing after swing as she waited for her opening. There was another crack of thunder, this one much louder, and a stray bolt of lightning lit up the darkened battlefield, if only for a moment.

He tackled her to the ground, which gave her enough opening to punch his wrist and force the weapon to go flying. The first few droplets of rain began to spill from the violent stormclouds overhead as the combat screeched to an unarmed deadlock.

Another strike of lightning sparked in the distance, lighting up his crimson eyes and twisted smirk. Gaz struggled to wrestle free, but she wasn't in the position to do so. Despite not growing nearly as much as she and Dib had over the years, he could still fight on their level.

A gloved hand made its way to her neck, which forced her to stop her squirming with a bit of a quiver. There, said hand found the little chain around her, and its crooked alien fingers rolled the metal until its charm came to the surface. Her favorite necklace in the world, the one she never took off and never showed a soul.

The pair of blood-red dog-tags, inscribed with the emblem of an alien armada.

"Just making sure you still had them."

"As if I would lose them." She made sure her necklace went everywhere she did, and finally spying the skull charm on his cloak, she noticed he was doing the same.

"So why did you attack me?"

He still didn't answer. Instead, he dropped her chain, lacing his alien fingers through her heavy violet locks. He lowered down on top of her, and hazel met crimson for a few longing moments before their lips met in a stormy kiss.

"No reason. Just trying to test your mettle."

* * *

_So the suggested one-shot was a "stormy ZAGR". Don't think I could've done that any more justice. XD Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks for reading! :)  
_

___****__§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §_


End file.
